French international from Olympique de Marseille Mattéo Guendouzi landed in Rome on Wednesday afternoon to finalize his contract with Lazio, announced the Italian vice-champion.
The day after the arrival in the Italian capital of Belgian international Romelu Lukaku, welcomed by 5,000 Roma supporters, several thousand Lazio supporters were at Ciampino airport for Guendouzi. The midfielder must pass the traditional medical examination on Wednesday evening and will sign his contract with Lazio on Thursday.
According to the Italian press, OM and Lazio have reached an agreement for a loan with obligation to purchase for a total amount of 13 million euros, to which will be added five million euros in bonuses. Guendouzi, 24, will discover his fourth championship after L1 (Lorient, OM), Germany (Hertha Berlin, 2020-21) and England (Arsenal, 2018-20).
Arriving at OM in 2021, the international (7 caps, one goal) quickly became essential during the 2021-22 season under the direction of Jorge Sampaoli. But the man who was one of the spokespersons of the Marseille locker room lost playing time and his starting place last season in the eyes of Igor Tudor. His successor Marcelino not counting on him anymore, Guendouzi decided to leave Marseille where his contract expired in 2025.
Lazio, runner-up to Naples last season and therefore qualified for the Champions League, lost their first two matches in the 2023-24 Italian Championship and are in 18th place. The team coached by Maurizio Sarri travels to Naples on Saturday (8:45 p.m.) as part of the third day of the Italian Championship.
